Monday, July 29, 1996

July 29, 1996-Leaving

Only a few people were present on that still morning when we pulled out of Seattle to go see the world.

Michael and JoAnne Grey, our neighbors at Shilshole Marina, who own Destiny; and Bill Baum was waiting out the marina entrance in his photo boat to get a shot for the local sailing mag.

And my son Kenneth was there.

That one surprised me.

Ken hadn't said much to me about our leaving. He was sort of casual about the whole thing, so I didn't know he cared much, or even gave it a thought. But there he was that morning, arriving unannounced. He still didn't say much, just gave me a short hug and went back to his car.

I guess he must have stayed there and watched us motor out, because JoAnne told me later she saw him still sitting in the car...with tears in his eyes.

So that was the hardest part of going sailing, it turned out; leaving our family.

Our friends were happy for us, and we were excited to be facing a new adventure, but the kids, who never had much of a dad when they needed him, now were going to have less of one.

It's been hard for me too, being apart from my kids and grandchildren, not being a part of their lives. But I justified it by saying that we didn't see them that much when we were there, and I wasn't going to sit around the rest of my life waiting for them to make some time for grandpa. Still, it's been difficult. Still is.

So I regret this, in a way.

Its funny, the only things I really regret in my life have been the disappointments I brought to my family.

2 Comments:

Touching words about your son and about what we have to do in life, sometimes. I don´t know you, but i think it was the right choice.If you too let me, i´m going with you, from here. This is my dream. Maybe one day i can make the same. So, i´ll make this journey with you through the time, flashbacking 10 years, and virtually, i will travel around the world with Fred and Judy. I loved to find your blog. Let´s dream at SV WINGS!!

P.S.- Sorry for my english. I´m portuguese and although i have some knowledge about the language, i´m not too good at writing it. ok? Along the journey, i´ll make some posts when i´ll feel they deserved...

Links to this post:

About Me

Two people: Fred & Judy , drawn to each other and yet somehow drawn also to the sea, and both intrigued by the idea of living aboard.
I saw her, blond and asymmetrical, beautiful, boarding another’s boat and I followed her and wooed her, or she wooed me. That was 1985 and we fell in love and we thought that to buy a boat and make a life together on the water was only natural.
So we did.
Fate.
The boat was WINGS.
For the next ten years we lived on Wings in Seattle, had jobs in the city, sailed every chance we got, and 40-50 times a year, went racing. It was great.
Then we left Seattle and began our cruising life. We voyaged across the world, across the seven seas, to faraway places, and made them our own.
Wings was our home, and is still, and we lived wherever the sea met the land and people welcomed us, as they did everywhere.
For twenty-five years we’ve lived this life, and more to come, we hope.
Join us now, and sail the seas.
Fred Roswold & Judy Jensen, SV Wings, Caribbean